Tampa Bay Buccaneers sign TE Ko Kieft

Ko Kieft's one-year, $1.65M signing with Tampa Bay earns a D Contract Value Index (CVI)—a deal that reflects the floor of NFL transactions rather than any meaningful offensive investment. At replacement-level tight end wages, this is a depth move pure and simple, the kind of signing teams make to fill a roster spot without expecting impact production. The $1.65M AAV slots Kieft into the sub-starter category: enough to cover practice-squad elevation costs and injury insurance, but nowhere near the compensation tier of even solid-starting tight ends. Tampa is clearly viewing this as organizational filler rather than a solution to any pressing need, which makes the low CVI appropriate—there's minimal upside embedded in the contract structure, and the club hasn't committed meaningful resources to prove otherwise. For a player at this stage of a career arc, the one-year tether also signals a prove-it window with no guaranteed runway, limiting both security and leverage. The D grade reflects what the contract actually is: a low-risk, low-reward depth signing typical of offseason roster management rather than a strategic acquisition.